Cognitive Flexibility and Communication of Therapeutic Conditions

The importance of a counselor's Accurate Empathy, Non-possessive Warmth, and Genuineness (3) has been validated by outcome research in counseling and therapy (1, 3) but less research has been directed toward relationship between counselors' ability to show these characteristics and their individual personality attributes. The relevance of one personality dimension, cognitive flexibility, to counseling effectiveness has been demonstrated (2, 4). This study investigated relationship of cognitive flexibility to ability to communicate therapeutic conditions of Accurate Empathy, Non-possessive Warmth, and Genu~neness of graduate students in a beginning practicum in counselor training progran~ at University of Oregon (N = 45; men, 24; women, 21; Mhro = 28.4 yr.; Range, 2147 ) . The Philosophic-mindedness TesP was used to measure cognitive flexibility. It assesses four basic characteristics of flexible thinking: freedom from psychological rigidity, ability to evaluate ideas apart from source, ability to see issues as many-sided rather than twosided and to develop a relatively large number of alternative viewpoints, and finally, ability to maintain a tolerance for tentativeness and ambiguity. Levels of counselor trainees' Accurate Empathy, Non-possessive Warmth, and Genuineness were obtained by having Deparunent of Psychology and Rehabilitation Research and Training Center, University of Arkansas rate segments of each S's interview with a coached client. The scales used are described in Truax and Carkhuff (1967). The means and standard deviations were for Accurate Empathy, 3.61 2 .54; for Nonpossessive Warmth, 3.73 -+ .32; for Genuineness, 3.34 & .48. No significant Pearson product-moment correlations were found between Philosophicmindedness and Accurate Empathy (r = -.05) and Genuineness (r = .14) but r was .37 (fl.06) between Philosophic-mindedness and Noo-possessive Warmth, latter being def~ned by Carkhuff and Berenson as the initial suspension of potentially psychonoxious feelings, anirudes and judgments by 'more knowing' person in all significant interactions with 'less knowing' persons (p. 28). Presumably, then, therapists with greater cognitive flexibility should be expected to be more able to accept a broader range of client's feelings and experiences without evaluation or judgment. If small relationship could be replicated with trained professionals, indices of cognitive flexibility might become useful in screening applicants for clinical training programs

Cognition · Cognitive flexibility · Cognitive psychology · Flexibility (engineering · Psychiatry · Coaching Methods and Impact · Counseling Practices and Supervision · Psychological Treatments and Assessments · Psychology

• Relativistic Thought

  Open Access•Suzanne Benack•Counselor Education and Supervision•1988

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• Cognitive Flexibility

  Open Access•Norman A Sprinthall, John M Whiteley et al.•Counselor Education and Supervision•1966

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